This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Elliot Brenya sarfo
I like tools that give me control. I like seeing the logs roll in my own terminal. I like knowing where the database file lives. n8n fits that mood. It connects your apps, moves your data, and runs on your own machine. When something breaks, you can still touch the files, read the config, and fix it. That is the point of a local install.
There are two roads. Docker, where you get a neat, sealed box that behaves the same on every machine. Or Node and npm, where you install n8n like any other CLI and own the runtime. You can switch between them later, but it helps to pick the one that matches how you work today.
First, a few truths. The editor listens on port 5678 by default. If something else is already there, you will hit a connection error. You can change n8n’s port with an environment variable and keep moving. That small change saves an hour of second guessing your setup when a VPN client or a forgotten dev server is the real problem. Community threads say the same thing. When 5678 is busy, switch the port and carry on.
Now the version question. n8n moves fast. New minor versions land most weeks. The docs call the stable channel latest and a faster, beta-ish channel next. Right now, the npm path expects Node in the 20.19 to 24.x range, inclusive. If you stay in that lane, you avoid the “works on my laptop” ghost hunt. The page that says this also shows the current latest and next numbers, which helps when you pin versions.
Docker path
Docker is calm once it is running. You install Docker Desktop on macOS or Windows, or the engine on Linux, then you start a container with a persistent volume. That volume holds your world, the SQLite file by default, the encryption key, the logs, the bits n8n needs to remember who it is. The official command in the docs does a lot for you in one go, including the timezone and safer file permissions. It also enables task runners, which n8n now recommends. Run this as written, swap the timezone for yours, and you get a clean, predictable start.
docker volume create n8n_data
docker run -it --rm \
--name n8n \
-p 5678:5678 \
-e GENERIC_TIMEZONE="Europe/Berlin" \
-e TZ="Europe/Berlin" \
-e N8N_ENFORCE_SETTINGS_FILE_PERMISSIONS=true \
-e N8N_RUNNERS_ENABLED=true \
-v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n \
docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n
Open the browser, go to http://localhost:5678, create the owner account, and you are home. That’s the easy part. The next choice is your data store. The default is SQLite in that mounted directory. It is fine for a personal notebook of automations. When you outgrow it, n8n speaks PostgreSQL through environment variables. Even then, you should still keep the volume. The encryption key and other instance data live there, and you want them to survive a container restart. The docs say this outright.
docker run -it --rm \
--name n8n \
-p 5678:5678 \
-e GENERIC_TIMEZONE="Europe/Berlin" \
-e TZ="Europe/Berlin" \
-e N8N_ENFORCE_SETTINGS_FILE_PERMISSIONS=true \
-e N8N_RUNNERS_ENABLED=true \
-e DB_TYPE=postgresdb \
-e DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n \
-e DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=localhost \
-e DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=5432 \
-e DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n \
-e DB_POSTGRESDB_SCHEMA=public \
-e DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=supersecret \
-v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n \
docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n
When you need a first-class HTTPS endpoint and a real hostname, reach for Docker Compose with Traefik. You get automatic certificates, a stable URL, and a reverse proxy that routes traffic to the editor. The official compose file wires this up in a way you can read in one pass. It binds the editor to 127.0.0.1 and lets Traefik publish 80 and 443. It also sets N8N_HOST, N8N_PORT, N8N_PROTOCOL, WEBHOOK_URL, and the timezone. Paste their compose file, fill the .env, and bring it up. Yes, it is production-leaning, even on a small VM.
# .env
DOMAIN_NAME=example.com
SUBDOMAIN=n8n
GENERIC_TIMEZONE=Europe/Berlin
SSL_EMAIL=user@example.com
# compose.yaml
services:
traefik:
image: "traefik"
restart: always
command:
- "--api.insecure=true"
- "--providers.docker=true"
- "--providers.docker.exposedbydefault=false"
- "--entrypoints.web.address=:80"
- "--entrypoints.web.http.redirections.entryPoint.to=websecure"
- "--entrypoints.web.http.redirections.entrypoint.scheme=https"
- "--entrypoints.websecure.address=:443"
- "--certificatesresolvers.mytlschallenge.acme.tlschallenge=true"
- "--certificatesresolvers.mytlschallenge.acme.email=${SSL_EMAIL}"
- "--certificatesresolvers.mytlschallenge.acme.storage=/letsencrypt/acme.json"
ports:
- "80:80"
- "443:443"
volumes:
- traefik_data:/letsencrypt
- /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
n8n:
image: docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n
restart: always
ports:
- "127.0.0.1:5678:5678"
labels:
- traefik.enable=true
- traefik.http.routers.n8n.rule=Host(`${SUBDOMAIN}.${DOMAIN_NAME}`)
- traefik.http.routers.n8n.tls=true
- traefik.http.routers.n8n.entrypoints=web,websecure
- traefik.http.routers.n8n.tls.certresolver=mytlschallenge
- traefik.http.middlewares.n8n.headers.SSLRedirect=true
- traefik.http.middlewares.n8n.headers.STSSeconds=315360000
- traefik.http.middlewares.n8n.headers.browserXSSFilter=true
- traefik.http.middlewares.n8n.headers.contentTypeNosniff=true
- traefik.http.middlewares.n8n.headers.forceSTSHeader=true
- traefik.http.middlewares.n8n.headers.SSLHost=${DOMAIN_NAME}
- traefik.http.middlewares.n8n.headers.STSIncludeSubdomains=true
- traefik.http.middlewares.n8n.headers.STSPreload=true
- traefik.http.routers.n8n.middlewares=n8n@docker
environment:
- N8N_ENFORCE_SETTINGS_FILE_PERMISSIONS=true
- N8N_HOST=${SUBDOMAIN}.${DOMAIN_NAME}
- N8N_PORT=5678
- N8N_PROTOCOL=https
- N8N_RUNNERS_ENABLED=true
- NODE_ENV=production
- WEBHOOK_URL=https://${SUBDOMAIN}.${DOMAIN_NAME}/
- GENERIC_TIMEZONE=${GENERIC_TIMEZONE}
- TZ=${GENERIC_TIMEZONE}
volumes:
- n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
- ./local-files:/files
volumes:
n8n_data:
traefik_data:
Bring it up, visit https://n8n.example.com, and you have a tidy HTTPS setup without touching OpenSSL by hand. That recipe comes straight from the docs, and it is a strong default for a home lab or a small team server.
npm path
You might not want Docker. Maybe you already live in Node. Maybe you need n8n on a workstation where containers are not allowed. npm is fine. You install once, then you start the app like any other CLI. The docs are clear on the Node range. Stay between 20.19 and 24.x and you are safe. You can try n8n with npx if you want a quick smoke test. When you are ready, install globally and start.
npx n8n
npm install -g n8n
n8n start
There is a tunnel flag for webhook testing. It gives you a public URL that forwards to your local editor. It is great for GitHub, Stripe, or any service that needs to call back into your machine during development. Use it for dev only. The docs warn against using it in production, and they are right.
n8n start --tunnel
If you are on Windows, Docker can feel touchy with file sharing and virtualization switches. Community writeups show a path that works, including the Hyper-V enablement and the right sharing settings. If you get odd permission errors or volumes that refuse to mount, check those flags first. It saves a day.
Upgrades and pinning
You can update a Docker install by pulling a new image, then restarting the container. You can pin a version by tag. You can do the same on npm by installing a specific version or the next channel. The docs list the current latest and next on the install pages. Read them before you bump. A small warning helps, treat next like a beta. Stable is latest.
docker pull docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n
docker pull docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n:1.107.4
docker pull docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n:next
npm update -g n8n
npm install -g n8n@1.107.4
npm install -g n8n@next
First workflow, proof you are alive
The fastest way to prove your instance works is a tiny workflow that hits a public API, transforms the result, and logs it. In the editor, add a Manual Trigger. Add an HTTP Request to https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1. Connect them, run once, and watch the data flow. You will see the response as JSON, you will see the execution in the list, you will feel the system breathe. If you prefer a schedule, drop in a Schedule Trigger and set it to every hour. The timezone you set earlier will keep it sane. That setting exists because time in workflows is tricky, and n8n handles it with a clean variable for scheduling, plus the TZ for the system clock. The install docs cover both.
Small security moves that pay off
Turn on authentication if you expose the editor on a network you do not control. Put n8n behind HTTPS. If you run Compose with Traefik, you get TLS out of the box. Keep your .n8n directory safe, it holds your encryption key. Keep backups of that volume. If you lose that key, you lose access to encrypted credentials. The Docker page explains why persisting that directory matters even with PostgreSQL. That sentence has saved more than one weekend.
When things feel wrong
Port busy, change it. Set N8N_PORT and move on. Node too old, upgrade to a supported range. If an npm upgrade stalls with dependency noise, check the docs for reverting a migration and step back one version. The npm page shows the db:revert flow for multi-step rollbacks. You can recover cleanly if you read and respect the release notes.
When to choose which road
If you want a clean slate and easy upgrades, Docker is the default. If you are building custom nodes and like local control of Node, npm feels natural. Both are first-class in the docs. Both will get you to the editor screen at http://localhost:5678 in a few minutes. The choice is not forever. You can migrate your workflows later by exporting and importing, and you can keep the same PostgreSQL database if you standardize on it early.
You came here to run n8n locally, not to fight your tools. Start with Docker if you are unsure. Start with npm if your machine is already a good Node citizen. Set a timezone, pick a port, keep the .n8n volume safe. Build one workflow that makes you smile. When you are ready to share it with the world, move to Compose and Traefik and give it a real URL.
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This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Elliot Brenya sarfo
Elliot Brenya sarfo | Sciencx (2025-08-24T04:02:12+00:00) Running n8n Locally Without Regrets.. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2025/08/24/running-n8n-locally-without-regrets/
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